Ferguson pays tribute to Busby Babes

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Eight of that great team lost their lives following the Munich air disaster 50 years ago on Wednesday, with the club commemorating all those who died in the plane crash with a service at Old Trafford.

"We rely on history. It repeats itself. The way Sir Matt built that team, we're trying to repeat it," Ferguson told MUTV.

He added: "We want young players who were brought up at this club the right way, and to understand what playing for this football club is. And the younger you get them, the better it is."

Ferguson hailed the achievement of Busby, who was twice read the last rites and kept in intensive care following the crash, in rebuilding the team and leading them to European Cup glory in 1968.

"The hardest thing in management anyway is to manage change. When it's forced upon you in these circumstances, you have to start from complete scratch." he added.

"But he had faith in young people, so it meant that younger players were brought into the line-up much quicker than they would have been.

"He made a couple of shrewd buys, Albert Quixall (from Sheffield Wednesday) and Maurice Setters (from West Brom), but it wouldn't have been easy.

"By the time they got to 1963 and they beat Leicester in that (FA Cup) final, you could see the threads starting to come together. After that, it just snowballed really, young players started coming through in their droves again.

"By the time he got to the (European Cup) final in 1968, I think there were only two players in the team that he had bought. The rest had come through the club which is a fantastic achievement, in 10 years. I've been here 21 years and only won it once."